I like a lot of Zach Bryan’s music, but I’m also surprised at how famous he has gotten. You’re probably right that the Nashville Machine saw an opportunity and picked it up. Some of it also has to do with timing I think. When he came along, there was really only one modern artist that people knew about who was hitting that vein of country music, which as you mentioned seems to go against the grain. Tyler Childers.

So there was a need for his sound when he came along. He also did kind of pound the pavement in a way by releasing multiple albums in a short time span. And his albums often have well over 20 songs on them, meaning he cast a wide net.

That said, it is a little bit off-putting to me how famous he’s gotten so fast. It can’t possibly be sustainable in my opinion. He may continue to release interesting music in the future but right now I think him and Noah Kahan are the flavor of the week. The flavor is decided by social media but also by the machine.

Some people really just won’t take the time to discover music and will consume whatever the industry feeds them. A lot of people, actually.

Pounding the pavement the old fashioned way is still valuable in gaining loyal fans. There can only be so many Noah Kahans in the world. But now that he blew up that way, everybody wants that TikTok fame. Most of them will fail and would have been better off pounding the pavement. Except for the next Noah Kahan…. and the cycle continues.

I think the music industry is long overdue for a big shakeup and I’m trying my very best to contribute to that shakeup.